Emotions Astir
by mysticalweather
Summary: How Sam *finally* gets a clue. Sam Barrett ship


Sam tore a page out of her notebook, crumpled it into a ball, and tossed it towards her trash can. She missed, but didn't bother to pick it - or the others like it - off the floor. The formula she was working on just wasn't working and she was too frustrated to worry about the wads of paper littering her office floor.

She'd hit a wall. Placing her thumbs on her temples she tried to massage away the pain in her head that was growing steadily. She glanced back down at the papers strewn in and around the trash can in the corner, each one containing a mishmash of numbers, letters, and careful thought out calculations...that mean absolutely nothing.

She sighed. It was her own theory! It was pretty bad when even she couldn't make sense of it.

Sam sat back in her chair and let out a soft groan. She'd been sitting in the same position for too long and her body was stiff and starting to protest. Stretching, she decided it would probably be best to leave this for later. Sometimes looking at a problem with fresh eyes makes all the difference.

Coffee couldn't hurt either.

She was just about to get up and head for the commissary when a knock to her left caught her attention. Turning towards the open door, Sam saw Malcolm Barrett standing just outside her lab.

It had been awhile since the last time she saw him, and she had to admit that he looked good. He had asked her out a couple of times in the past, and she had always turned him down. But each time she found herself wondering if she was making the right choice. Reluctantly she had to admit that she had become gun-shy when it came to relationships. But Malcolm really was a great person and...what if she was missing out on something wonderful?

She glanced longingly back at the wads of paper on her floor. Give her quantum physics over this any day.

"Sam?"

Oh, right. He was still standing in her doorway. She gave him a smile and gestured for him to come in.

"Good to see you!" she greeted him, trying not to sound too eager. But another thought cut her enthusiasm short. "Is something wrong?" she asked, suddenly worried that something had happened.

Malcolm gave her a reassuring smile. "No, everything's fine. I was doing some work at Area 51 and I ran across something that I thought you might want back."

Want back? Sam's eyebrows sank in confusion."What are you talking about?"

"Do you mind if I..." he trailed off, gesturing towards the chair across from her.

She nodded and waited as he settled into his seat. "Now what were you saying?"

"Long story short...the NID has been trying to clean house as it were. Rogue agents have plagued us for years, so we've been taking our security and investigation of rogue agents up a notch. We've managed to find several more safe houses, warehouses, and the like that were used by the rogue NID, and along the way we found a cash of alien technology that was stolen several years ago."

"What does this have to do with me?"

"Well, apparently one of the items we found belongs to you."

"Me? What is it?" she asked, her confusion evident.

"Truthfully, I don't know what it is, or what it does. As far as I can tell, it was taken from you by Colonel Makepeace before he was arrested. According to the file, Makepeace stashed it in a warehouse and it's been under glass ever since." With that Malcolm reached into the breast pocket of his shirt and pulled out a small gray rectangular device.

"Ohmygod," Sam breathed as she took the device from his hands.

It was the emotion recorder Narim had given her shortly after they met. He said he'd worn it every time he was with her, and then he, quite literally, showed her how much he cared. Later when Tollana was destroyed, and Narim was killed, Sam had nearly torn her office apart looking for the device. The one piece of Narim that would remain. Her anger at Makepeace flared instantly, how dare he steal something of such personal value? Treasonous jerk. Lucky for him he was still in prison. Her anger dissipated in a sigh. At least the device had been returned to her. And really, she should have guessed that the NID would be after any technology left behind by the Tollan.

"Thank you," she said to Malcolm as she closed her eyes to activate the device.

Warm and sweet, happiness, gentle attraction, a hint of amazement...

She smiled at the familiar feel of Narim's emotions. Sadly, he was gone. But at least she had this to remember him by.

Sam was just about to open her eyes when the emotions coming through over the device changed. This was odd...she'd played Narim's emotions over several times not long after the Tollan had left earth, and the emotions she was experiencing now were definitely not on this device back then. Her breath caught in her throat at the intensity of what she was feeling. A heart beating in anticipation, complete trust, excitement, fear of rejection, deep attraction, nervousness, longing, hope, and was that...?

Sam's eyes flew open, her own heart racing.

"Sam!" Malcolm had abandoned his chair and was crouched on the floor next to where she sat. Obviously he thought the device had done something to her and he'd taken it from her grasp. "Are you okay?" he asked, squeezing her hand.

Sam tried to ignore the fire of his touch, her brain was already on overload as it was. She took a quick mental inventory, nodded a reply, and tried to slow her rapidly beating pulse.

One thing was certain, the last bit of the recording was not from Narim. He was very reserved by nature, and his emotions were nowhere near as intense as the ones she'd felt over the device. After all, they'd barely met when he gave the device to her.

"Is there anyway to know how many people have touched this device since it was stolen?" Sam asked.

Malcolm looked confused by her words. "Why? Is it broken?"

"Just please answer me."

He let out a breath as he stood back up and reclaimed his chair. "According to what we found, all the items in that warehouse were awaiting shipment to a research facility. Once Colonel O'Neill helped arrest key members of the rogue NID, the items were kept in a storage unit indefinitely. I'd say they were waiting for the heat to be off them before they risked shipping the stuff. So that being the case, Makepeace was probably the only one who ever really touched it."

"Was he wearing gloves?" she arched her eyebrow playfully.

Obviously Malcolm caught her subtle reference as he smiled at their inside joke. A you-had-to-be-there moment concerning illegal arms dealers that every once in a while worked its way back into their conversation...and their resulting laughter often earned them curious looks. Good times, Sam had to admit, her fondness over the memories evident. And yet again she was left wondering why she had rejected all his past offers for a date. But Malcolm was about to answer her question, so introspection could wait.

"Yes, I'd say so. According to what we know the rogue NID were very particular about the way they handled any alien tech, especially if it had buttons or if there was a possibility of it being touch activated."

"They didn't want to activate a device and possibly give away their position," Sam concluded.

"Or worse," he said with a nod. "So really, probably the only person who has really touched it since then is..."

"You."

"I didn't break it, did I?" he said, suddenly looking a bit worried. "I had it in my briefcase until I got to Cheyenne Mountain. I figured it'd be okay it my shirt pocket on the elevator ride to your lab."

So it was settled. The emotions she'd seen weren't Narim's, and they definitely weren't Makepeace's. They belonged to none other than Malcolm Barrett, as recorded in an elevator while he anticipated going to see her again. He'd just revealed his true, honest feelings for her in the most beautiful way possible, and he had no idea he'd even done so. How the hell was she supposed to respond to that?

"No, you didn't break it. Actually, I'd say it's working perfectly. Thank you for returning it to me."

Malcolm smiled. "You're welcome." He seemed a little disappointed that she didn't tell him what the device was, but he didn't press the issue. "Well, I guess I better be going," he said as he got to his feet and walked back towards the door. "I guess, uh, I'll just talk to you later then."

He was lingering in the doorway a bit awkwardly, as though there was something more he wanted to say, but just couldn't bring himself to do it. After a couple more seconds of hesitation he turned and walked out the door. "Bye Sam."

She knew exactly what he'd wanted to say...but she'd turned him down so many times in the past that he didn't want to be rejected again. Sam shook her head in disgust. How is it that she's repeatedly turned down the one man who might honestly be perfect for her? She closed her eyes, device in hand, and felt the emotions it had recorded stir within her once again.

She may have made bad choices in the past, but it was time to change all that.

She hurried down the hallway after him and caught up to him by the elevator.

"Going up?" he asked, obviously trying his best to act nonchalant.

"Uh, actually, I was wondering if you had plans for dinner."

"Dinner?" he repeated, looking unsure.

"Yeah, the device from the Tollan is pretty amazing...and I think you'll really want to hear about what it does."

"I will?"

"Yes."

"Over dinner?"

"Well, do you want to go out with me or not?"

Not exactly the most graceful way to ask someone out, but hey, she was a bit out of practice.

"So, when you said dinner...you mean dinner?"

"Yes."

He stared at her dumbfounded. "Really?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure that device didn't do something to you?"

Obviously he wasn't quite getting it, and no wonder he was thrown off. After all those times that she had turned him down...now here she was throwing him a curve ball. Clearly she was going to have to prove to him that she meant what she said. Feeling bold, Sam stepped forward grabbed his hand and brushed a gentle kiss on the outside corner of his mouth. It wasn't overly intimate, but she figured it was just enough to get her point across.

When she pulled away, the look on his face was priceless. And once his initial shock wore off he beamed her the brightest smile she'd ever seen grace his features. He was a good looking man anyway, but with a smile like that it was a wonder it had taken her this long to come to her senses.

"Actually, I'm pretty sure that it did."

End


End file.
